Snap-action cap for fountain pen or the like



D. H. YOUNG Feb. 26, 1957 SNAP-ACTION CAP FOR FOUNTAIN PEN OR THE LIKE v Filed Sept. 7, 1955 5 w mm w O m# m M. m

N m U a D Hr first Q M 3% 1 O E ii xz United States Patent SNAP-ACTION CAP FOR FOUNTAIN PEN R THE LIKE Donald H. Young,- Southbury, Conn., assignor to Waterman Pen Company; Inc.,-New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 7', 1955', Serial No. 532,970

10. Claims. (CL. fill-42.01)

The invention relates tofountain pens, pencils and similar objects having a body portion which for convenience will be referred to as a barrel and a cap adapted to. be slipped over one end for protective purposes and removed when the device is-to be used.

The principal object of the invention is to eliminate that type of cap. and. barrel engagement which depends upon the cap being more or less wedged on a tapered portion. of the. barrel and provide, instead, a snap interlock which is positive inaction and fool-proof and which avoids any marring of the barrel as the result of the repeated application and removal of the cap.

In general, the. invention involves the provision of a cap stop. ata suitable position lengthwise of the barrel, a cap having a circular end: opening defined by an inwardly projecting bead and a. plurality of humps spaced around the: barrel adjacent but. ahead of the cap stop, leaving a: bead-receiving; space. between the humps and the: stop, the humpsv being. dimensioned to. spring the cap head to out-.of-round. shape in. its passage. over the saidv humps. into the bead space;

Throughout this specification. and in the claims the expressions ahead. of,? forwardly of and. the like; mean in the direction of that end'of the device to which the cap is to be applied for protective purposes (the point end, inotherwords, in the case of a writing instrument).

For. purposes of illustration: the: invention is shown in the drawings and. is described herein as applied to: a fountain pen but it. will be apparent that its utility is by no means limited thereto;

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of acap and fountain pen embodying the invention;

Fig. 2. is an enlarged, broken-out, longitudinal section of a portion of the pen, with the cap applied to it;

Fig. 3 is a still furtherenlarged, broken-out, longitudinal section of the interlocking portions of the pen andv cap;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1';

Fig. 5 is an end' view of'a ring element;

Fig. 6 is a broken-out, enlargedend'vi'ew of a portion of the ring element;

Fig. 7 is a side view of the ring element; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a preferred form of spring guide element.

The barrel of the pen, which may be assumed to be made of hard rubber or plastic, is generally designated 1 and the cap, which is preferably of metal, is marked 2.

In this preferred form of the invention, the cap locking humps are not formed directly on the barrel but on a ring or band 3 applied to it, the ring also being preferably of metal. As shown, the ring is generally flat and the humps 4 are outwardly formed so as to be rounded as viewed in section transversely of the band (Fig. 3). Three equally spaced humps are preferred.

The pen illustrated is of the type having a separable forward barrel portion 5 (or section, as it is sometimes called) which carries the nib and feed. The warm main" portion 6 of the barrel, in this instance, is designed to receive an ink cartridge (not shown) the forward end of which is seated in a coupling or ferrule 10 secured in barrel portion 5' and eXteriorly threaded at 11 to receive the rear or main part 6 of the barrel. The details or" the cartridge mounting, feed, etc. form no part of the present invention.

In accordance with the invention, the barrel is formed or provided with a cap stop to limit the cap movement onto the barrel and, in the type of pen illustrated, this stop is conveniently located at the juncture of the two barrel portions. The illustrated stop consists of a washer 12 which is clamped against the rear end of barrel sec tion 5 by flange 13 of coupling 10 (Fig. 3). As will be seen, the washer not only forms a shoulder or abutmentfor engagement by the cap but also serves to lock the" ring 3 against rearward movement when barrel 6 is removed. The ring' is seated on a slightly reduced diameter and portion 14 (Fig. 3) of barrel section 5 so that, except for the humps, its outer surface is substantially flush with the adjacent surface of barrel section 5.

The open end of cap 2 is spun orv otherwise formed to provide an inwardly projecting bead 15, which serves to reinforce it and also provides material which can be accurately sized to provide the desired circular end opening. The opening defined by the cap bead, and the bumps, are so dimensioned that, when the cap is applied, the bead engages the humps and then, as sufficient pres,- sure is applied, the humps serve to spring the bead slightly out-of-round as it moves over them. Of course, the head is not permanently deformed by this action: but returns to its circular form after it has passed over the peaks of the humps. As indicated, the head is. rounded so as to be more readily movable over the ring humps; It will also be noted that the curvature of the bumps. serves to space their peaks from the washer; in. other words, there is a bead space between the humps and? the washer into which the bead snaps when the cap: is fully applied (Fig. 3).

It will be seen that when. so appliedthe cap. iSJlOCk'd'l in place against inadvertent endwise movement; How ever, it does not engage the' barrel over any extended length and hence, unless prevented, would tend to rock. laterally about its beaded end and feel insecure. Ac. cordingly means are provided for holding the cap:against. such rocking and also for guiding or centeringit as: it is: applied to the barrel. Suitable yielding means disposedwithin the cap itself serve these purposes.

In the illustrative embodiment, such. means. consists. of. a sheet metal unit stamped out of flat stockand then. formed up to more or less cylindrical shape to provide end ring portions 20 and spaced elements 21 whichv are inwardly bowed. The inwardly bowed elements 21' engage the forward barrel portion, serving bothto center the cap as it is being applied and to hold it against rocking when the cap is snapped home. As will be recognized, the elements 21 serve as springs, yielding as necessary to receive the barrel section 5. The unit is preferably coated with rubber or plastic so that the longitudinally disposed spring elements can slide on the barrel without marring it. The unit is formed up of a diameter slightly larger than the internal diameter of the cap, so that when slightly compressed and inserted in the cap and released, the ring portions 20 will expand and engage the cap wall and hold the unit in place.

In the light of the foregoing description of the preferred form of the invention and with the understanding that such form is illustrative only, the following is claimed:

1. In a writing instrument or the like having a barrel incorporating a cap stop, the combination therewith of 3 a cap h'aving a circular end opening defined by an in: wardly projecting bead, a plurality of humps spaced around the barrel adjacent but ahead of the cap stop to form a bead-space between the humps and stop, the said humps being dimensioned to spring the cap head to outof-round in its passage over the said humps into the said bead space.

2. In a writing instrument or the like having a barrel incorporating a cap stop, the combination therewith of a cap having a circular end opening defined by an inwardly projecting bead, three humps equally spaced around the barrel adjacent but ahead of the cap stop to form a space between the humps and stop adapted to receive-the said bead, the said humps being dimensioned to spring the cap bead to out-of-round in its passage over the said humps into the said bead space.

3'. 'In a writing instrument or the like having a barrel incorporating a cap stop, the combination therewith of a caphaving a circular end opening defined by an inwardly projecting bead, a ring encircling the barrel adjacent and forwardly of the said stop, a plurality of bumps spaced around the ring, the said humps being dimensioned to spring the cap bead to out-of-round in its passage over the said humps into engagement with the said cap stop.

4. In a writing instrument or the like having a barrel incorporating a cap stop, the combination therewith of a cap having a circular end opening defined by an inwardly projecting bead, a fiat band encircling the barrel on the forward side of the cap stop, a plurality of humps spaced around the band and forming a bead space between the humps and stop, the said humps being dimensioned to spring the cap bead to out-of-round in its passage over the said humps into the said bead space.

5. In a writing instrument or the like having a barrel incorporating a shoulder forming a cap stop, the combination therewith of a cap having a circular end opening defined by an inwardly projecting bead, a ring encircling the barrel adjacent the shoulder on the forward side thereof, the outer surface of the ring being substantially flush with the surface of the barrel ahead of the ring, a plurality of humps spaced around the ring and forming a bead space between the humps and shoulder, the said humps being dimensioned to spring the cap bead to outof-round in its passage over the said humps into the said head space.

6. In a writing instrument or the like having a barrel incorporating a shoulder forming a cap stop, the combination therewith of a cap having a circular end opening defined by an inwardly projecting bead, a plurality of humps spaced around the barrel adjacent but ahead of the cap stop and forming a head space between the bumps and stop, the said humps being dimensioned to spring the cap bead to out-of-round in its passage over the said humps into the said bead space and centering means disposed Within the cap for engagement with a portion of the barrel.

' 7. In a writing instrument or the like having a barrel incorporating acap stop, the combination therewith of a cap having a circular end opening defined by an inwardly projecting bead, three humps equally spaced around the barrel adjacent but ahead of the cap stop to form a space between the humps and stop adapted to receive the said head, the said humps being dimensioned to spring the cap bead to out-of-round in its passage over the said humps into the said bead space and yielding centering means disposed within the cap for engagement with a portion of the barrel.

8. In a writing instrumentor the like having a barrel incorporating a cap stop, the combination therewith of a cap having a circular end opening defined by an inwardly projecting head, a plurality of bumps spaced around the barrel adjacent but ahead of the cap stop to form a bead space between the bumps and stop, the said humps being dimensioned to spring the cap bead to outof-round in its passage over the said humps into the said bead space and a series of inwardly bowed, longitudinally disposed spring elements mounted within the cap adapted to engage a portion of the barrel.

9. In a writing instrument or the like of the kind having a main barrel portion and a forward, removable barrel section, the improvement which comprises: a ring mounted on a reduced end portion of the forward barrel section and having a plurality of spaced humps projecting beyond the adjacent surface of the forward barrel section; a washer rearwardly of the ring adapted to secure it against removal; means for locking the washer to the forward barrel section, the said washer being adapted to form a cap stop spaced from the humps; and a cap having an end opening defined by an inwardly projecting bead adapted to snap over the humps into the space between the bumps and the washer.

10. In a writing instrument, front and rear barrel sections, a coupling member longitudinally separably connected to said front barrel section, a cap stop member clamped in fixed position between said coupling and said front barrel section, means providing a detachable connection between said coupling and said rear barrel section, circumferentially spaced peripheral projections on said forward barrel section adjacent but ahead of said cap stop so as to leave a small longitudinal space therebetween, and a snap action cap movable longitudinally over space before abutting said cap stop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,944,927 Cuthbert Jan. 30, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS 424,185 Italy Sept. 13, 1946 921,773 France Jan. 20, 1947 944,423 France Nov. 2, 1948 945,832 France Dec. 6, 1948 631,195 Great Britain Oct. 28, 1949 

